


you be mine (and i'll be yours)

by fromawhisperstart



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-20 19:56:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6022768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromawhisperstart/pseuds/fromawhisperstart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity Smoak's profitable college experiment, Rent-a-date, has been out of business ever since she got her job at Queen Consolidated. Her boss, Oliver Queen, is in need of a date to a wedding without any romantic complications. He approaches her with an offer- one week of pretending to be his girlfriend at a family wedding for the cool price of five thousand dollars.</p><p>How hard can it be?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Decent Proposal

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I'm still working on Baggage Claim, but I had an idea that I just couldn't shake.  
> Fake relationships is one of my favorite tropes, and I had to play it out between Oliver and Felicity. Hope you enjoy it! This will be a multi-chaptered fic.

you be mine (and I’ll be yours)

“Ollie, you can’t do this to me again,” Thea moaned, thrashing around on Oliver’s bed as an act of defiance. Watching from his plush leather chair, Oliver smiled, thumbing his cell phone absently as his sister whined.

“What’re you talking about, Speedy?”

“You’re not taking a date to the wedding, Mom just told me!”

Oliver raised his eyes from his phone. “How does Mom know that?”

“Mom knows everything,” Thea rolled her eyes.

“Why do you care if I take a date or not?”

“Because! The last wedding we went to, I didn’t know anyone and you promised you’d stay with me. But then you hooked up with the maid of honor and left me alone all night to fend off the bride’s creepy uncle,” Thea cringed, folding her arms, “And I just _know_ you’re going to do it again.” She jumped off the bed and walked to her big brother, poking him in the chest, “Because that’s what Ollie Queen does.”

Oliver winced, catching his sister’s finger and rubbing his chest. “How do you know what Ollie Queen does?”

“Please,” Thea waved a hand carelessly, “I’m a teenager with teenage friends who drool over you. I know what ‘Ollie Queen’ gets up to.”

“OK, I think that’s enough of this conversation,” Oliver sighed, pushing himself from the seat and heading towards the door.

“What about Laurel?” Thea continued, “Are you still seeing her?”

“Nope,” Oliver replied quickly, stopping at the door. He wasn’t keen on discussing his and Laurel’s…mutual uncoupling with his younger sister.

“Fine…uh, what’s that detective’s name? The girl you went out with a few weeks ago-“

“Thea, can we drop this?”

“Fine, I’ll drop it,” Thea pouted, leaning against his wardrobe, “But you know what Mom’s like. If you don’t bring a date, she’ll have to set you up with someone herself.” Oliver glared at Thea, who shrugged happily, knowing she was right. “Just something to think about.”

-

Felicity Smoak sank into her couch, carefully not to spill the glass of red wine she was holding precariously in her hand. After a long week at work, she was ready to reacquaint herself with her best pal, Merlot. Switching on the television and settling on a trashy reality show, she lifted her tablet from the table absently tapped her code in. Logging into her emails, she was met with a stream of spam.

"Note to self, set up spam detectors," she muttered, deleting the emails methodically. Her eyes drifted to the television, watching two blondes fight over a suspiciously tan male, when a new email dropped into her inbox.

Her heart dropped to her stomach as she read the subject.

_Rent-a-date enquiry_

Oh god. She thought she'd removed the website from the internet? Her college business she'd set up to earn a few extra dollars whilst studying hadn't been active in at least four years.

She read on, embarrassment pooling in her stomach.

 

_Hi, I came across your website and just wondered if you’re still providing this service?_

_O_

-

Felicity checked her reflection in her dark phone screen, hoping she hadn’t chewed her less-than-expertly applied red lipstick off in the taxi ride over. The driver had dropped her off at Verdant, the place the mysterious ‘O’ had suggested after a few emails back and forth between them. It was still early, and there were plenty of people around, so if this ‘O’ was a serial killer as her friend Iris had insinuated, at least she wasn’t alone.

She made her way inside the club, shrugging her coat off and hastily accepting a shot of something bright and sour. She needed all she could get. She took a seat by the bar and scoured the club-goers. There were a couple of guys slouched on the bar, drinking or talking to their friends. There wasn’t anybody that seemed like they were looking for her.

After ordering a drink from the bar, Felicity reapplied her lipstick, tucking her hands under her chin as the minutes passed. Half an hour of waiting, and two drinks down, Felicity scooped a bunch of notes from her purse and left them on the bar. A hand on her back stopped her.

“Felicity Smoak?” a familiar voice greeted her. She span on her heel to find her boss, Oliver Queen, stood with a scotch in hand. A small yelp left her mouth.

“Mr Queen! What’re you doing here?”

She’d seen Oliver a few times, in the hallways of Queen Consolidated. They’d always shared a friendly smile, a polite chat, but she knew that wasn't out of the ordinary. He was her boss. He got on with _everyone_.

“I believe I've got a meeting with you.”

Felicity’s mouth went dry. Oliver…was O?

“Sorry I’m late, I got held up. You want a seat?” he said, gently pulling her towards a bar stool. Felicity snapped her mouth shut and nodded inattentively.

What was he doing here? Had he found the website and done an employee check? _Was she about to be fired?_

“Drink?” Oliver asked.

“Please,” she replied unevenly, her throat like gravel. He gestured to the bartender as Felicity felt her heart thump in nervous anticipation.

“So,” he turned to her, “Where did the idea for ‘Rent-a-date’ come from?”

Felicity took a deep breath, knowing the only way out of this horrible situation she found herself in was to be honest. Maybe he’d understand? He was young, he was an entrepreneur, maybe he’d see the sincere idea behind a business which could be taken as…distasteful.

“It was something I did during college to get by,” she began, grimacing, “I majored in Computer Sciences, and equipment for my course was expensive. There was no way my cocktail waitress mother was going to be able to afford everything I needed. So, a few friends and I, we started charging to be dates. We’d attend parties, graduations, family events, that sort of thing.”

The bartender interrupted, placing their two drinks on the bar. Oliver nodded gratefully and took a sip of scotch thoughtfully. Felicity ran a finger around the rim of her drink, the touch of ice cold glass soothing her nerves slightly.

“It was fun,” she continued, “and made us a lot of money for a while. But then…one by one we got into serious relationships and found jobs and the business…fizzled out,” she shrugged, pushing her drink to the side, “And that’s it. No sordid love affairs. No crazy stories. Just me, and a bunch of friends, finding a new way to make college affordable.”

Oliver lent back in his seat, exhaling a breath as he let Felicity’s words sink in.

“So…it wasn’t an escort service, then?”

Felicity rolled her eyes, feeling sick, “No! I never…” she flushed, lowering her voice, “…slept with anyone. That was part of the deal. Holding hands and a kiss on the cheek was as far as I went.”

“And…you haven’t had a rent-a-date offer for…?”

“Four years,” she replied, “Ever since I met Cooper.”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Ex.” Felicity picked at her bright blue nails, quickly changing the subject in the hope that Oliver, her boss, wouldn’t probe further into her not-so desirable love life, “I thought about starting the business back up again, but then I got a job at Queen Consolidated, and here we are,” she tugged on the name tag hanging around her neck, “and I just don’t have time to even _think_ about another plunge into the wild world of fake dating.”

“What about for me?” he asked casually. Felicity’s mouth gaped open.

“What?!” she squeaked.

“I need a date for this wedding I’m going to next week,” Oliver explained, “I wasn’t going to bring anyone, but Thea has already informed me that my mom will be pissed if I don’t. Plus, after the last blind date she tried to set up, I can’t take her prying into my love life anymore.” He shuddered at an unseen memory. He paused, wrinkling his brow, "What did you think I was doing here?"

“I thought this was some kind of joke! I thought you were checking up on what your employees were doing…you’re not going to fire me, are you?”

“What? No!”

“Ok,” Felicity said shakily, regaining her composure. One question began forming in her mind.

“OK," she repeated,"But…you’re Oliver Queen. You’re like, the hottest single guy in Star City. Why would you need to hire somebody to be your date when half the people in this room would go out with you, free of charge?” she asked, nodding towards the gorgeous women at the other end of the bar who had been throwing him flirtatious smiles for their entire conversation. Oliver shook his head, sighing.

“It’s…complicated. Besides, taking a woman to a wedding on the first date? That creates a lot of obligation, don’t you think?”

“Maybe,” Felicity shrugged, her stomach twisting.

“Whereas with you-” He raised an eyebrow, “-there would be no issue with that, because this would just be a job.”

Felicity didn’t know how to respond. She motioned to the bartender for another drink, hoping a little more liquid courage would help make sense of it all.

“Felicity?” Oliver murmured, his voice low, watching as the bartender placed another gin and tonic on the place mat in front of the blonde. “Any thoughts?”

Felicity averted her gaze from his and raised the glass to her lips, sinking the alcohol quickly. She lowered the glass and winced as the alcohol burnt her throat, tasting like fervent copper on her tongue.

“What do you want me to say, Oliver? You’re my boss! People would be talking about us, and not in a, _oh they’re so cute_ kind of way-“

“It doesn’t matter what people say, because it’s not real,” he reasoned. “Look, I’m laying it out on the table here. You spend the week with me in New York. You come with me to the rehearsal dinner, the ceremony, all the wedding stuff. You can have your own room, on me. Pretend to be my girlfriend, and I’ll give you five thousand dollars at the end of the week.”

“Five thousand dollars?! Oliver, that’s insane,” Felicity gasped, wanting to laugh at how ridiculous his proposition was. Oliver looked at her, his mouth curling into a handsome smile.

“I’m hoping you’ll be worth it.”

The intensity in his voice, unintentional or not, couldn’t help but send shock waves through her core. A week with Oliver Queen, pretending to be his girlfriend? It didn’t happen to girls like her. The kind of business she’d had at college had been dopey frat guys hoping to impress the parents who had shelled out thousands for an education which had been thrown aside for countless parties, alcohol and girls. They weren't exactly millionaires with money to burn.

“Can I think about it?” she said tentatively.

“Sure, of course,” he replied, clearing his throat and downing his scotch. Felicity watched as his appearance changed. The handsome confidence which had poured from his face at the beginning of their meeting had been replaced with a slightly wounded expression, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he had ever been made to wait for anything in his life.

“I’ll let you know Monday,” she suggested, “Do I need to make an appointment with your assistant?”

He raised an eyebrow, amused. “How busy do you think I am?”

“The CEO of a multi-billion dollar company who can spend five thousand dollars on a date, no problem? _Pretty_ busy,” she returned, poking her tongue through her teeth as she grinned.

“Don’t worry, I’ll let her know you’re coming in.”

They exchanged a bright smile, one which made Felicity melt. There was no denying how charming Oliver was. Spending a week pretending to be attracted to him wasn't going to be too big of a stretch.

“I should go,” Felicity said, hoping the blush creeping from her neck would refrain from making an appearance. “It’s late, and I’ve got some work to do.”

“On a Saturday night?” He countered, fiddling with the ice in his almost empty scotch glass.

“My boss is kind of a dictator,” she joked, placing her handbag strap over her shoulder and slinking off the barstool. She pulled out her purse and grabbed a handful of notes, pressing them on the bar in front of her. Oliver frowned.

“No, Felicity, the drinks are-“

“Nu-uh,” she shook her head insistently, “This-“ she threw her finger back and forth, motioning to the space in between them, “-isn’t a sure thing. I can pay for my own drinks until a deal is made. _If_ a deal is made.”

“I respect that, don’t get me wrong, but I actually…own the club,” Oliver said, somewhat shyly. Felicity’s eyes widened.

“Oh,” she muttered, blushing furiously. She’d heard employees at work gossip about Oliver Queen’s new business venture, but she’d been so stuck in her job that she hadn’t realized it was open…and that she was sitting in it. She began spluttering an explanation. "I knew that. That's why your picture...is right ahead of me," she resigned, motioning to the giant poster of Oliver and his friend, Tommy Merlyn, plastered on the back wall of the bar. The one she'd been staring at the last half an hour.

"Yeah, that wasn't my idea," he groaned.

"OK, well, I'm going to leave before I stick my foot in it any further," she said, a nervous laugh escaping her, "Bye Oliver."

Oliver opened his mouth to respond, but Felicity had already shuffled her way through the crowds and thrown him a wave before he had the chance.

-

_You can do this. Tell him no. Tell him your career at his company is your top priority. Tell him your integrity is more important that five thousand dollars._

Felicity tapped her hands nervously against her thighs as she watched the elevator climb. She’d been practicing her rejection speech all day on Sunday, perfectly honing it so that it was equal parts gracious and convincing.

Although…five thousand dollars could buy her a lot of new computer equipment. Or a new couch. Or a new fridge freezer, as hers was about thirty years old and took forever to get cold. She wouldn’t need to worry about how expensive the flights were to join her mom at home for the holidays.

The elevator stopped, proclaiming with a sharp ‘ding’ that she had arrived at her floor. Felicity strode out of the elevator and approached Oliver’s office, peeking through the glass doors. An attractive brunette sat at the desk ahead tore her eyes away from the tablet screen and greeted her with a smile.

“Can I help you?” the brunette asked, her tone light and lilting.

“Hi, yeah, I’m Felicity Smoak? Oliver told me that he’d tell you I was coming?” Felicity said. The brunette, whose name Felicity suddenly recalled was Kate, jumped up from her desk and ushered her through the doors.

“Of course, I’ll let him know you’re here-“

“No need, Kate,” Oliver’s voice traveled from his office door, “I can show Ms Smoak in.” Felicity turned to see Oliver, looking amazing in a three piece suit, sending a bright smile her way.

“Thanks,” she mumbled in Kate’s direction, following Oliver into his office. It was _beautiful_ ; light and spacious, with mammoth windows adorning the outer wall of the building. She whistled, enthralled with Oliver’s office space. “So, this is how the other half life, huh?”

Oliver quirked an eyebrow, watching as she made her way to the huge window. “You’ve never been up here before?”

“Nope,” she replied, her eyes fixed on the view ahead, “I had my interview at the IT department. I accidentally found myself in your mother’s office, once. Long story,” she twisted her mouth as she recalled the uncomfortable memory. On her first day, Felicity had got lost on the way to the bathrooms, travelling floors in the elevator after asking for directions from an employee who, she now realizes, wanted to mess with her. Finding herself in Moira Queen’s personal bathroom and coming face to face with her after using her toilet? Not the greatest start to what was supposed to be the first day of the rest of her life. Oliver chuckled, raising from his seat and strolling around his desk.

“See, this is why I’d want to be a CEO. An office with a view of the city skyline. Hey, that’s where I get my coffee,” she pressed a small finger against the window excitedly, squinting as the people below milled around in the street.

“We must look so tiny to you up here,” she breathed, mesmerized at the city below.

Oliver tilted his head. This girl, this complete whirlwind of glasses and cute skirts and ponytails, was unlike anyone he’d ever met.

“So, have you thought anymore about my…proposition?” he asked, joining her by the window. Felicity, still gazing at the people below, felt the words tumble from her mouth before she could stop them.

“I’ll do it.”

“Yeah?” Oliver grinned.

“Yeah. But it’s _just_ a business thing.”

“Absolutely.”

“And it’s for one week only.”

“Great.”

“And there will be _no_ funny business,” she warned.

“I will be on my best behavior,” he promised. “I’ll get Kate to send you over the schedule for the week. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll pick you up on Monday at 9am, we’ve got a flight to catch at 11am.” Felicity blinked as she took the information in, wondering what she'd let herself in for.

“Great," she managed.

“Then we have a deal, Ms Smoak,” he smirked, offering her a hand. She took it, firm and resilient, full of promise for the weeks ahead.

“That we do, Mr Queen.”


	2. Se7en (days)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your lovely responses to the first chapter!  
> I hope you enjoy the next installment, where Oliver and Felicity sort out the business side of things.

“You said yes?!” Iris exclaimed.

Felicity had called her best friends, Sara and Iris, as soon as she’d got home from work that day, ordering them to bring wine and chocolate to her apartment make her feel slightly better about her terrible life choice. Her friends had shown up like a hurricane, armed with grocery bags full of crap food and her favorite alcohol.

It took less than a minute for the three of them to settle on the breakfast bar, wine and beer in hand.

“I don’t know what happened to me!” Felicity groaned, her forehead resting on her tabletop in despair, “I was _sure_ that I was going to turn him down, say thank you very much but I’m not interested, and then I was going to walk away and forget all about it. Instead, I take one look at his office and say yes. I basically dropped my panties for him. I’m such an office slut.”

“Oh please, like it was the office that made you change your mind. Oliver Queen is hot,” Sara teased, popping the bottle cap off her beer and taking a sip, “and now you get to be his girlfriend for a week.”

“Felicity, this is so exciting!” Iris grinned.

“It is?” Felicity lifted her head from the table, unconvinced.

“Yes! You get to spend the week with Oliver Queen, the hottest guy around and not to mention, one of the guys I’m allowed to cheat on Eddie with,” Iris winked before continuing, “And you get _five thousand dollars_ at the end of it! Where’s the downside?”

“The _downside_ is that he’s my boss!”

“And?!” Sara and Iris replied in unison.

“ _Aaaand_ , I want to be taken seriously at Queen Consolidated. I want to be head of the IT department one day. How am I supposed to do that if everyone thinks I’m just a girl the boss is screwing?”

“Felicity, listen,” Sara began, gently nudging a wine glass her friend’s way, “There was a reason you changed your mind. And it wasn’t the bespoke glass interior of Queen Consolidated.”

Felicity took a sip and pondered back to the moment she’d agreed to Oliver’s proposition. There was just something about him…he was charming, and good looking, and looked _dazzling_ in a grey suit, but there was more to it. What that was, however, remained a mystery.

“I don’t know. I guess the promise of five thousand dollars overruled any logical reasoning,” she sighed, submitting herself to her fate.

“Cheers to that,” Sara clinked her glass with Felicity’s.

“Do you think I’m a bad person?” Felicity asked apprehensively. Her friends laughed.

“No! Felicity, you’re single, he’s single. You’re not stealing the money from him,” Iris said, reaching for the salted chips Sara had poured into a bowl minutes before, “He’s offering it to you. It’s no different from what we used to do at college. _Go_ and enjoy your week surrounded by the filthy rich. We can’t wait to hear all about it.”

 “Yeah, and spare no details,” Sara grinned, wiggling her eyebrows mischievously.

-

“Any luck finding a date yet?” Thea asked as Oliver emerged in the kitchen on Tuesday morning.

“Morning to you too, Speedy,” he muttered, his headache unforgiving after another late night at the club. He pulled an orange juice from the fridge and sat down next to his ever-perky sister.

“Rasia left some breakfast for you in the oven,” Thea said, popping a forkful of scrambled egg in her mouth, “Hey, tell me again why the CEO of a billion dollar company _and_ a successful nightclub owner need to live with their parents?”

Oliver narrowed his eyes, unscrewing the cap on his orange juice and taking a sip, hoping to eradicate the bitter taste of yesterday’s alcohol from his tongue.

“I’d miss you too much if I moved out,” he replied dryly, his voice like gravel. Thea poked her tongue at him and set her plate aside, wiping the crumbs from the counter absently.

“You didn’t answer my question. Did you find a date? We’re leaving in six days, and you’re kidding yourself if you think Mom won’t be able to find you a girl in that time.”

“Thea-“

“And don’t think I won’t tell her. This is payback, Ollie,” she smiled gleefully.

“Well, there’s no need. Because I’ve asked my girlfriend to come with me.”

Thea’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “You have a girlfriend? Since _when_?! Why didn’t you tell me the other day?! Who is she?”

“Relax, Speedy,” Oliver muttered, “She’s someone I met at work. And I didn’t tell you the other day because I wasn’t sure if she was able to go to the wedding. I didn’t want you to get your hopes up because I know how you can-“

He was interrupted by a small squeal falling from Thea’s lips. “I can’t wait to meet her! What’s her name?” she questioned, eyes shining with excitement.

“Felicity.”

“Cute name. Do you have a picture?”

“Thea,” Oliver smiled, pulling himself off the breakfast bar stool and placing a calming hand on her shoulder, “You’ll see her next week. In the meantime, I need to get ready for work and shouldn’t you be at school by now?” He frowned, eyes landing on the clock hanging above the breakfast bar. Thea pouted sulkily, hopping from the stool and swinging her rucksack over her shoulders.

“You’re no fun,” she said, taking one last gulp of orange juice and disappearing down the hallway with a wave. Oliver sauntered to the sink to wash his glass out, mind whirring. Well, it was official. If Thea knew about his ‘girlfriend’, the rest of the world was going to know in less than an hour. The world _and_ his mother. He resolved to let Felicity know later that day, before she was unexpectedly bombarded with the Queen family.

-

Striding to work with her laptop tucked under her arm, Felicity swiped a concealer covered finger under her eye, hoping the make-up and the abundance of coffee would disguise any hint of last night’s excess of wine. She hadn’t got to bed until 2AM, after she and Iris had dragged a tipsy Sara from the kitchen stool to her couch.

Pushing the revolving doors at the opening of Queen Consolidated, she made a beeline for the staff canteen to pick up her third coffee of the day, flashing her ID badge to the security placed by the door. Ten minutes later and armed with a polythene cup full of her life elixir, Felicity made her way to the IT department. After greeting her colleagues, she slumped into her chair, the familiar hum of computers soothing her dull head. She switched her computer on, blinking as the bright light of the monitor filled the otherwise dark room. She took a sip of coffee and inhaled, preparing herself for the day ahead. 

“Felicity?” Matt, the IT assistant, poked his head round the door a few minutes after. Felicity glanced up from her screen and shot him a smile. “Mr Queen is on the phone for you.”

Felicity frowned. Oliver never called the IT department- his assistant Kate was a regular visitor however, bringing down wet laptops and busted tablets on a monthly basis. Felicity would bite her tongue when fixing Oliver’s tech, knowing that his disrespect for her technology was overruled by the fact that his family’s name was plastered on the side of the building.

Matt blinked, offering the phone to her with a shrug. She took it, lifting the phone to her ear apprehensively. “Hello?”

“Felicity, how are you?” Oliver said warmly, “Sorry to spring this on you so early, but I thought I’d let you know that I told Thea about…us, this morning.”

“OK…” Felicity’s mouth twisted.

“And I wanted to make sure we were on the same page. About us…being together, I mean.” Felicity sat back in her chair, stomach flipping.

“Uh, sure. On _Monday_ ,” she added, her voice quiet. Despite having her own office, the walls were thin and she would place good money on betting that Matt had already told everyone else in the IT department about their VIP caller.

“Right, from Monday. Although, just to warn you, my Mom knows.”

“Your mom knows?” Felicity repeated, dread filling the pit of her stomach. It was a familiar to the job, the meeting of the parents of her fake boyfriends, but Moira Queen, her boss with the keys to Felicity’s career, was a much scarier prospect.

“Well, sort of,” Oliver sighed, “If Thea knows, my Mom will know soon enough. And I know we’ve said that this…thing won’t start until Monday, but if my Mom comes sniffing around the IT department, I thought we should come up with our backstory. You know, for consistency’s sake.”

“Right. That’s actually part of the deal, with…” she cleared her throat, eyes darting to the door, “Rent-a-date. I’ll draw something up and send it to you.”

“Great,” Oliver exhaled, sounding more relaxed.

“Is there any detail you want me to put in? Do you want me to say that we met at work, or at a bar? At a bar might sound better, because then the fact that I’m your employee won’t seem as weird, although meeting at a bar is kind of cliché. Ooh, maybe at the library? That’s-“

“Whatever you want, Felicity,” Oliver interrupted, his voice amused, “As long as our first meeting happened a few weeks ago. I was still seeing my ex, Laurel, early last month and I don’t want there to be any crossover. That’s for your sake, not mine.”

Felicity nestled the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she reached for a nearby legal pad, scribbling notes as Oliver talked. “Sure, got it. Is this casual thing, or are we together after a quick courtship?”

“Well, I told Thea you were my girlfriend, so…yeah. That’s where we’re at.”

Felicity mumbled something in response, trying to ignore how her breath faltered at the sound of Oliver Queen calling her his girlfriend. _This is just business, Felicity_ , she chided herself, flipping the legal pad over.

“Great. I’ll type this all up and send it over to you. I’ll put the subject as something dull, like ‘IT accounts.’ Just in case.”

“Not ‘Rent-a-date invoice', then?” Oliver asked, his tone teasing. Felicity flushed.

“You can joke, but it’s a pretty self-explanatory name,” she retorted lightly, “Perfect for frat boys to remember, and I’d place good money on betting that you were once a frat boy yourself?” She didn’t really need to ask; the internet had already informed her of Oliver’s colorful college life, but it was quite nice to hear him squirm.

“Fine, fine,” he said gruffly.

“I’ll give you half an hour to read it and then I’ll delete it from your inbox from a remote location- namely, my office,” she said, beginning to type, “Don’t want anybody from the IT department to stumble on our agreement whilst bored on a lunch break.”

Oliver huffed out a laugh, before pausing. “Wait, you really do that?”

“Oh, uh, what’s that Matt?” Felicity called out to no-one in particular, wincing, “Yeah, I’ll be right there! Sorry Oliver, I have to go. There’s an IT situation happening right now and it’s not pretty.”

“Sure, go, go. Talk to you soon, Felicity,” he said softly. After ending the call, Felicity clutched the phone to her chest, glancing to the ceiling in despair.

“Oh, Felicity. What are you getting yourself into?”

-

The week passed by relatively quickly. Felicity spent most of her working days hiding in the IT department, not wanting to bump into Oliver’s inquisitive mother wandering through the hallway or in the lobby of the building. She arrived early and left late, hoping to get through as much as she could before her week off attending the wedding.

During her lunch breaks, she’d browse for clothes online. A quick web search of ‘Thea Queen’ informed Felicity that the 17 year old was obsessed with fashion. Photographs of Thea looking stunning at runway shows and showbiz parties did nothing to settle her nerves about the week ahead, so she buried herself in pretty clothes and shiny dresses, ordering a couple of pieces for the wedding. She winced at her checkout price, not used to the amount of zeros attached to an online shopping order. But she took a breath, remembered the five thousand dollars promised to her, and went ahead with the purchases. She could almost hear her bank account crying.

-

“So you’ve got your underwear?” Sara’s voice trilled over the phone. Felicity had placed her on speaker as she gathered the last few items and threw them into the suitcase splayed out on her bed. It was Monday morning, and Felicity’s nerve endings were on fire.

“ _Yes_ I’ve got my underwear, underwear is kind of essential,” Felicity frowned, unzipping her make-up bag and pulling out her favorite lip balm. Her eyes darted to her bedside clock, wary of what little time she had until Oliver came to pick her up.

“With Ollie Queen? Meh, I’m not so sure.”

Felicity tutted, applying the lip balm quickly with her index finger.

“Sara, this is just business. Don’t even put thoughts like that into the universe; it can’t end well.”

“I meant your nice underwear, by the way.”

Felicity’s eyes drifted towards the red lingerie set next to her mirror. She’d debated with herself whether to take the gorgeous matching set, wondering if she was just tempting fate by trying to be alluring. In the end, she’d decided against it, leaving it wistful and wanting on top of her dresser.

“Nope. Wishful thinking,” she sighed, slipping her make-up bag into her suitcase and zipping it shut.

“Hey, even if you don’t get with Oliver-“

“Sara-“

“-I said _if_! Even _if_ you don’t get with Oliver, there will still be hot, single guys there. It’s a wedding staple.”

“For the last time,” Felicity said, tugging her suitcase from the bed and pulling the handle, “I’m not getting with Oliver. I’m not getting with anyone, period. It’s one week of the Queens, of high society, then I’m back to my regular life as an IT girl.”

“ _Fiiine_. Have fun, girl.”

“Bye Sara,” Felicity smiled, ending the call and slipping the phone in her pocket. She glanced in the mirror, smoothing her hair down until it behaved and brushing stray hairs from the white cashmere sweater her mom had gifted her for her first birthday away from home, hoping it would fit Felicity’s ‘sophisticated big city life.’ Felicity smiled fondly, stroking the cuff of her sweater. Donna would be freaking out if she knew the week her daughter was about to have.

A knock at the door sent a nervous shiver down her spine.

 “Coming!” she called, inhaling a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Well, here goes nothing.”


End file.
